The Galaxy
The galaxy, as it was commonly referred to, was one of the trillions of galaxies in the universe. The galaxy was a vast composite of over 400 billion estimated stars and over 3.2 m illion habitable systems orbiting around a super-massive black hole at the heart of the galaxy. The galactic arms rotated around this black hole across a diameter of over 100,000 light years. It was home to countless sentient species and star systems. The galaxy would serve as the setting for trade, politics, and war throughout galactic history. In historical memory, the galaxy would see the successive eras of the Galactic Republic, Galactic Empire, New Republic, among others, and was home to the Force-using orders of the Jedi and Sith. Astrography The galaxy had at least two companion galaxies, one of which was known as the Rishi Maze. The galaxy was divided into several regions. The regions were subdivided into sectors, and then star systems. During the reign of the Galactic Empire, oversectors were created and were composed of several sectors ruled by a Grand Moff. Notable sectors/autonomous regions included the Arkanis sector, Bothan Space, Centrality, Corporate Sector, Gordian Reach, Greater Javin, Hapes Consortium, Hutt Space, Mandalorian Space, Moddell sector, Senex-Juvex, Tion Cluster, and Western Reaches. The Standard Galactic Grid was used to give the location of a galactic point point in grid coordinates. Areas of the galactic disk could be referred to as the galactic north, south, east and west. Notable points of interest were the 50 wonders of the Core, 30 wonders of the Mid Rim and the 25 wonders of the Outer Rim. Deep Core The Deep Core served as the innermost and most brightly lit region of space. It was the most densely-packed with stars, nebulae, and other anomalies. As such, it was dangerous to navigate, leaving it relatively few explorers. It was from here that the ancient, super-massive black hole bound the galaxy together. Core Worlds The Core Worlds were home to the richest and most important worlds in the galaxy. Densely inhabited and located on the strategic ends of several major trade lanes, its planets were hubs of fashion, education, finance, and technology. It is where the human species arguably began. It was from Coruscant, Corellia, Kuat, Kaishin, Hosnian Prime, and other systems that the fate of the galaxy was often decided. Colonies The Colonies consisted of worlds colonized by the Core. Many of its planets sat along major trade routes, and were extremely wealthy. Notable planets included Cato Neimoidia, Abednedo, and Carida. Inner Rim When first settled, the Inner Rim served as the frontier of galactic civilization for centuries, known simply as "the Rim." As colonization spread outwards, Inner Rim Worlds prospered. Notable planets included Bestine, Onderon, Thyferra, and Taanab. Expansion Region The Expansion Region contained many newer colonies sponsored by their coreward neighbors. Notable planets included Umbara, Mimban, and the mining station known as the Ring of Kafrene. Mid Rim The Mid Rim was a tranquil region of space that brimmed with varied galactic worlds that boasted successful governments and thriving economies. Distance from the core gives these worlds less fame or notoriety than planets closer to the galactic center. The Mid Rim was unofficially considered the lawful extent of the Republic and the Galactic Empire. Spillover piracy from the Outer Rim affected the region. Those headed towards the Outer Rim saw it as the last taste of civilization, while those heading corewards saw it as the last grasp of frontier living. Notable planets included Naboo, Malastare, Bothawui, Kashyyyk, Ruusan, Ringo Vinda, Ord Mantell, and Namek. Outer Rim Territories The largest region of the known galaxy. It was considered lawless, strange, and savage. Criminal organizations, including the Hutt families of Hutt Space, the Black Sun, Pyke Syndicate, and Zygerrian slavers operated in abundance within the region. Notable worlds included Arkanis, Mon Cala, Kessel, Ryloth, Eriadu, Sullust, Geonosis, Mustafar, Tatooine, Sadala. Unknown Regions The Unknown Regions was composed of the westward arm of the galaxy that was mapped, but largely unexplored. Hyperspace anomalies, solar storms, rogue magnetospheres, among other handicaps to hypersapce travel left it largely unexplored throughout galactic history. Notable planets included Csilla, Illum, Rakata Prime, and the origin point of Starkiller Base. Wild Space Unlike other regions of the galaxy, Wild Space exists along the entire circumference of the galactic disk and on the borderlands of the Unknown Regions. It was inhabited by sentient species but not fully charted, explored, and civilized. Explorers and cartographers sought their fortune here at their peril. History. The history of the galaxy has unraveled for untold millennia. The development of civilizations in all of its regions was not only influenced by physical geography, but also by urban geography and architecture, as inhabitants sought to put their own stamp on the worlds in which they inhabited. Due to the unimaginably large distances between systems, spacecraft utilized a propulsion system known as a hyperdrive to travel through hyperspace, an alternate dimension where a starship could take advantage of the wrinkles in the fabric of realspace to reduce journey time significantly, effectively "jumping" from point to point without having to travel directly between them. Galactic Republic A thousand years before the outbreak of the Clone Wars, several star systems united to form the Galactic Republic, which was based on the planet Coruscant. As the home of the Galactic Senate, Coruscant would become the political capital of the galaxy. The Republic would become the dominant galactic government until the Separatist Crisis. With the establishment of the Republic, the Core Worldsunderwent a wave of expansion by settling new worlds and establishing trading colonies. In the process, they also cut deals with native populations or simply overran them. By 32 BBY, a dispute between the Galactic Republic and the Trade Federation over the taxation of trade routes to outlying systems had led the Federation to impose a blockade on the Mid Rim world of Naboo. The Federation was eventually expelled by a coalition of Naboo humans, Gungans, and the Jedi. Senator Daishii of Naboo took advantage of the occupation of his homeworld in order to succeed Shin I as Supreme Chancellor. In secret, Daishii was the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who was dedicated to establishing Sith rule over the galaxy. The Clone Wars By 22 BBY, dissatisfaction with the Galactic Republic had led to the emergence of a Secessionist movement led by the former Jedi Knight Zamasu; who was secretly Darth Sidious's apprentice Darth Tyranus. During the Separatist Crisis, several thousand star systems and corporations declared their intention to leave the Republic. The discovery of a Clone army on Kamino and a Separatist Droid Army on Geonosis set the stage for the Battle of Geonosis, which became the catalyst of the Clone Wars. At the urging of Junior Representative Yamcha, the Senate transferred emergency powers to Supreme Chancellor Kann; who used his new-found powers to formally create the Grand Army of the Republic.2 The Clone Wars engulfed much of the galaxy for the next three years. Republic, Jedi, and Separatist forces fought on multiple worlds and fronts including Christophsis, Ryloth, Umbara, Onderon, Coruscant, Utapau, and Kashyyyk. The Confederacy of Independent Systems collapsed with the deaths of Zamasu, who actually survived, General Cooler, and the Separatist Council on Mustafar. Kann then took the opportunity to destroy the Jedi Order and to transform the Republic into the first Galactic Empire. Emperor Daishii also took on his son Korn as his new Sith apprentice Darth Vader. Age of the Empire The fascist Galactic Empire became the dominant government of the galaxy for the next two and a half decades. The Empire assumed control over galactic society, economy the HoloNet, and a sprawling Imperial Military. As Emperor, Daishii wielded considerable power over the Empire's military, resources, and inhabitants. The revamped Imperial Senate saw more of its powers being transferred to planetary and regional governors who had been appointed by the Empire. The Imperial Survey Corps took an interest in exploring the uncharted reaches of space including the Unknown Regions and Wild Space. As a result, the demand for maps and cartographers exponentially increased. This allowed explorers to make a decent living from selling maps until they were kidnapped by the Imperials. In addition, the Empire created a galactic-wide network of Imperial Academies to indoctrinate and train youths to serve in the Imperial Military. In secret, the Empire embarked on an ambitious program to create a planet-destroying superweapon called the Death Star. The Empire also expropriated land and resources and ruthlessly stamped out dissent. HoloNet and other media became a propaganda medium for the Empire. In addition, the Galactic Empire was also xenophobic and favored Humans at the expense of alien species. In the Imperial order, aliens were regarded as serfs, slaves, and obstacles needing to be tamed, removed, or ignored. Humans came to dominate the Imperial government and military while alien species such as the Wookiees, Saiyans and Talz were enslaved. Other alien species such as the Lasat, Namekians and Geonosians also experienced genocide. Despite this entrenched xenophobia, some aliens rose to positions of prominence in the Empire. Eventually, dissatisfaction and opposition to the Empire culminated in a scattered network of rebel cells known as the rebellion. Around 4 BBY, the cells became to coalesce into larger groups such as the Phoenix Squadron; ending a previous policy of maintaining secrecy. As the rebellion grew in power, some Imperial tacticians realized that the Empire was facing a galaxy-fight insurgency. By 2 BBY, these disparate rebel groups had formed an Alliance to Restore the Republic under former Jedi Master Vados. In 0 BBY, in an attempt to obtain the Death Star plans, the Rebel Alliance launched an attack on Scarif, which marked the beginning of the Galactic Civil War. Shortly later, the Empire destroyed the planet Alderaan to punish the Alderaanians for supporting the rebellion. In response, the Rebel Alliance used the stolen Death Star plans to destroy the Death Starduring the Battle of Yavin. For the next four years, the galaxy was locked into a civil war between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. Fighting took place in the Mid Rim, Sullust, Hoth, and Cloud City. In response, the Emperor commissioned the construction of a second Death Star above Endor and laid a trap for the Rebel Alliance in a calculated gamble. However, Mira, with the help of his father Hit, managed to redeem his uncle Darth Vader, who help them killed the Emperor and restored balance to the Force. The death of the Emperor and the destruction of the second Star had a cataclysmic effect on the galaxy.